Non vessel operating common carrier = transport company / carrier who undertakes to transport goods by sea without owning his own ships; frequency found in the LCL/LCL segment; NVOCC bills of lading are fully bankable

Payload:

Weight of goods loaded in to a container

PAX:

Indicates hazardous goods that may also be loaded on to passenger planes

Sea way-bill/Express B/L:

Sea waybill for which no originals are created; not negotiable like the B/L - allows rapid and problem free delivery of goods in the destination port; cannot be used in all regions; is not used in the case of letter of credit

Security Surcharge:

Security surchage levied by the airline per kg

SMA:

Security manifest amendment fee

SMD:

Security manifest documentation fee

Stripping:

Unloading of (consolidated) containers

Stuffing:

Loading of a container

TEU:

Twenty Foot Equivalent unit, 20' ISO Unit

TACT:

The Air Cargo Tariff

THC:

Terminal Handling Charges

Three Letter Code:

Every airport has one comprising of three letters e.g.: CHC = Christchurch, AKL = Auckland

ULD:

Unit Load Device (e.g. container, pallet etc)

VAT:

Value Added Tax

Volume:

Dimensional weight in the airfreight sector based on a ration of 6:1; calculation L cm x W cm x H cm / 6000 = dimensional weight to be compared to the actual weight of the shipment. The higher wiehgt is used as a basis for calculating freight fees.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has introduced new Incoterms® 2010 rules that can be applied for new contracts to explain the responsibilities of buyers and sellers when trading goods internationally. More information about Incoterms® can be found here.